Imagine we all throw garbage, junk and rubbish away anyhow. Imagine there was no authority to supervise waste management activities from all the sources mentioned earlier. Imagine we all just sent our rubbish to the landfill, or just dumped them in a nearby river. What do you think will happen? A disaster!

Environmental Effects

Surface water contamination:
Waste that end up in water bodies negatively change the chemical composition of the water. Technically, this is called water pollution. This will affect all ecosystems existing in the water. It can also cause harm to animals that drink from such polluted water.

Soil contamination:
Hazardous chemicals that get into the soil (contaminants) can harm plants when they take up the contamination through their roots. If humans eat plants and animals that have been in contact with such polluted soils, there can be negative impact on their health.

Pollution:
Bad waste management practices can result in land and air pollution and can cause respiratory problems and other adverse health effects as contaminants are absorbed from the lungs into other parts of the body. (Pollution is fully covered here)Leachate
Liquid that forms as water trickles through contaminated areas is called Leachate. It forms very harmful mixture of chemicals that may result in hazardous substances entering surface water, groundwater or soil.

Economic Effects

Municipal wellbeing:
Everyone wants to live and visit places that are clean, fresh and healthy. A city with poor sanitation, smelly and with waste matter all over the place do not attract good people, investors and tourists. Such cities tend to have poor living standards.

Recycling revenue:
Cities that do not invest in recycling and proper waste control miss out on revenue from recycling. They also miss out on job opportunities that come from recycling, composting and businesses that work with them.